The 18 chapters that follow interleave the writing of the bible within the history of the Levant.
It is built around a study of the academic research into the texts themselves combined with the work of those historians
who have applied the available evidence to determine an objective history of the states of Israel and Judah
and their relations with the superpowers of the day – Egypt, Assyria, Babylonia, Persia, Greece and Rome.
Chapters 1 to 3 examine the pre-natal history of the biblical texts as evidenced in the ideas, images and writings of Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia.
The principle theories of the Exodus and the Conquest are discussed and a synthesis proposed.
Chapter 4 addresses the nature of Israel and Judah in time of Saul, David and Solomon.
Chapter 5 introduces the Documentary Hypothesis, which many scholars believe lies behind the writing of the the first four books of the bible.
Chapters 6-10 place the writings of Elohist, Yahwist, the Priestly authors and their contemporary prophets within the context of the histories of
Israel and Judah. Chapters 11 and 12 cover the Age of Assyria and the evolution of the Deuteronomic ideas and reforms, whilst chapters 13 - 15 deal
with the period leading up to Babylonian Exile, the Exile itself, and the Return under the auspices of the Persian Empire.
Chapter 16 explores the events and writings that occurred within the turbulent times associated with the struggles between rival Greek empires.
Chapter 17 covers the period of the Maccabean Rebellion, Judean Independence and the writings,
that occurred in this time. Finally Chapter 18 considers the inheritances that Judaism and Christianity have received as a result of Judean rebellions
of the early years of the Current Era.
These chapters are introduced by a 'Pre-script' which sets out the motivation for the research on which they are based and expores
the special problems of historicity, the texts themselves, and their translations that the research encountered.
A Postscript reviews the conclusions of the resarch.
There is a set of appendices, providing various indices, some source structures and a bibliography.
The contents page offers fuller descriptions of the contents of each chapter and provides links
by means of which the entire chapter may be read or downloaded. Each chapter will open in a separate window, enabling more that one section
to be opened at the same time - for example a chapter and the index of biblical verses.
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